Matching 50 Game of Thrones characters with 50 European countries

Turkey: Daenerys Targaryen

There’s no doubt that Daenerys Targaryen is one of the most powerful women in all of popular fiction. Without edging into villainous territory (I’m looking at you, Cersei), she’s managed to rise from exile to queen, slowly building up an army that could land her the Iron Throne. Any country matched with a grade-A killer female like Daenerys has to be pretty interesting. Turkey delivered.

Women in Turkey face major obstacles, including disparities in employment, widespread illiteracy and the popularity of child marriages, but like Daenerys during her ascent to power, they are fighting back. The Turkish feminist movement has been going on since the 19th century and has been part of some key victories such as a ban on polygamy and the granting of full political rights to women in the 1930s.

Like Daenerys, Turkey is a force on the world stage (it’s the third most populated country in Europe), but not quite the biggest or most influential, at least not for the moment. While I have no doubt Daenerys will continue to be a major power player, she’s not Queen of the Seven Kingdoms yet. Like Turkey, Daenerys can trace her rich history back hundreds of years (the slaves of the Ottoman Empire don’t sound like too far a cry from the Unsullied). We’re all excited to see if she’ll finally restore the Targaryens to the throne in the final season of the show.